3 Hür-El

3 Hür-El formed on July 20, 1970, in Istanbul when singer-guitarist Feridun Hürel teamed with his brothers, bassist Onur Hürel and drummer Haldun Hürel, upon their departure from the Selçuk Alagöz Orchestra. The three grew up in Trabzon and moved with their family to the Fatih district of Istanbul. In 1963, their father, Murat Hürel, encouraged their musical interests with an accordion. They later acquired a secondhand guitar and jammed with makeshift percussion.

On November 27, 1965, Feridun performed at the Kamer Wedding Hall in Fatih. The siblings formed Yankılar and added a fourth guitarist for the renamed İstanbul Dörtlüsü. They expanded into the five-piece Oğuzlar for the 1967 Altın Mikrofon competition sponsored by Hürriyet. The group adopted the name Biraderler that autumn and performed at venues including Fitaş Cinema and Istanbul Technical University. The music magazine Diskotek featured Biraderler and ranked them second in its May 1968 amateur-band competition.

Feridun joined the Selçuk Alagöz Orchestra as guitarist in 1968 and toured across Turkey with the singer. Onur and Haldun continued Biraderler until spring 1970 when vacancies in the Alagöz ensemble reunited the three musicians. Their engagements with Alagöz financed new instruments for the independent trio.

Feridun constructed a double-necked saz-guitar with assistance from his father, combining an electric guitar and electric bağlama on one body. Haldun commissioned copper darbukas from craftsmen at the Beyazıt Bazaar and incorporated them into his percussion setup. 3 Hür-El also accompanied former Moğollar singer Aziz Azmet at concerts.

On August 30, 1970, Diskotür issued the debut 3 Hür-El single “Ve Ölüm” (b/w “Şeytan Bunun Neresinde”). Folk musician Şemsi Yastıman subsequently won a court dispute over the arrangement of the B-side, which used verses by the 19th-century poet Dertli. 3 Hür-El followed with the 1970/71 singles “Gurbet Türküsü” (b/w “Didaydom”) and “Pembelikler” (b/w “Ağıt”). In 1972, they dropped “Lazoğlu” (b/w “Gül’e Ninni”) and “Yara” (b/w “Döner Dünya”). 3 Hür-El also played on tracks by Ersen and Alpay. They assembled earlier singles and new tracks for their self-titled Diskotür LP.